Code of Conduct

This Code of Conduct helps us build a community that is rooted in kindness, collaboration, and mutual respect.

Whether you’ve come to ask questions or to generously share what you know, join us in building a community where all people feel welcome and can participate, regardless of expertise or identity.

We commit to enforcing and improving the Code of Conduct. It applies to everyone using Freelancing Stack Exchange and the Stack Exchange network, including our team, moderators, and anyone posting to Q&A sites or chat rooms.

Our Expectations

If you’re here to get help, make it as easy as possible for others to help you.
Follow our guidelines and remember that our community is made possible by volunteers.

If you’re here to help others, be patient and welcoming.
Learning how to participate in our community can be hard. Offer support if you see someone struggling or otherwise in need of help.

Be clear and constructive when giving feedback, and be open when receiving it.
Edits, comments, and suggestions are healthy parts of our community.

Be kind and friendly.
Avoid sarcasm and be careful with jokes — tone is hard to decipher online. If a situation makes it hard to be friendly, stop participating and move on.

Unacceptable Behavior

No subtle put-downs or unfriendly language.
Even if you don’t intend it, this can have a negative impact on others.

Unfriendly

Friendly

“You could Google this in 5 seconds.”

“This is called Invariance and Covariance. If you Google it, you’ll find tutorials that can explain it much better than we can in an answer here.”

“If you bothered to read my question, you’d know it’s not a duplicate.”

“I don’t think this is a duplicate. My question is about cement board, while the question you linked is about drywall.”

“Are you speaking English? If so, I can’t tell.”

“I’m having trouble understanding your question. I think you’re asking how to add a swap after system installation. Is that correct?”

“I came to get help, not to get my question edited.”

“Thanks for trying to help, but your edit isn’t what I meant. I’ve removed your edit, and have updated my question so it’s clearer.”

No name-calling or personal attacks.
Focus on the content, not the person. This includes terms that feel personal even when they're applied to content (e.g. “lazy”).

No bigotry.
We don’t tolerate any language likely to offend or alienate people based on race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion — and those are just a few examples. When in doubt, just don’t.

Enforcement

We take your reports seriously. Those who don’t follow the Code of Conduct in good faith may face repercussions deemed appropriate by our moderation team. This is how moderators generally handle misconduct:

1

Warning
For most first-time misconduct, moderators will remove offending content and send a warning. Most issues are resolved here.

2

Account Suspension
For repetitive misconduct or behavior containing harassment, bigotry, or abuse, moderators will impose a temporary suspension (one day or more, depending on the violation).

3

Account Expulsion
For very rare cases, moderators will expel people who display a pattern of harmful destructive behavior toward our community.

All actions will be taken on a case-by-case basis at the discretion of our moderators. If you have concerns about how a moderator has handled a situation, contact us directly.

We created this Code of Conduct because it reinforces the respect that we, as a community, expect from one another. Having a code also provides us with clear avenues to correct our culture should it stray off-course.

We welcome your feedback on this and every other aspect of what we do at Freelancing Stack Exchange and the Stack Exchange network. Thank you for working with us to build a kind, collaborative, and respectful community.